CBB Column: 2010 ACC Tournament Preview

The ACC Tournament starts up later today with Division A action with the Virginia Cavaliers playing against Boston College and Florida State facing off against archrival Miami. Division B starts up on Wednesday night as Clemson plays against NC State. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech will open up on Thursday evening at 8pm. The winner of each division will face off on Sunday for the conference championship.

#1 Virginia

Top Hitter: Phil Gosselin (.379 BA, 7 HR, 49 RBI) Top Pitcher: Danny Hultzen (8-1, 2.08 ERA) Outlook: The Cavs enter as the favorite in the ACC to win the conference and a potential NCAA championship at the end of June. They have a fairly easy draw as they will open against Boston College before facing off against Florida State and Miami. Virginia is a combined 7-2 this season against the three squads.

#2 Clemson

Top Hitter: Kyle Parker (.373 BA, 18 HR, 56 RBI) Top Pitcher: Casey Harman (6-2, 3.98 ERA) Outlook: Clemson could sneak into a host position for the NCAA Tourney as they have to do major damage in the conference tourney to get into that position. The Tigers have been up and down recently as they lost 2 out of 3 games to Wake Forest before completing a three game sweep of Florida State.

#3 Georgia Tech

Top Hitter: Thomas Nichols (.384 BA, 10 HR, 39 RBI) Top Pitcher: Deck McGuire (8-3 , 2.83 ERA) Outlook: The Rambling Wreck have almost wrapped up a Regional Host spot but could end up getting a national seed by going 2-1 or winning the ACC Championship.

#4 Miami (FL)

Top Hitter: Yasmani Grandal (.428 BA, 13 HR, 54 RBI) Top Pitcher: Chris Hernandez (8-3, 2.94 ERA) Outlook: As of right now, I think the Hurricanes would be hosting a Regional but they are one of the last few teams in the Top 16. They need to have a decent week to make sure they host come next weekend.

#5 Florida State

Top Hitter: Sherman Johnson (.344, 5 HR, 43 RBI) Top Pitcher: Brian Busch (4-1, 4.42 ERA) Outlook: The Seminoles had an absolutely terrible weekend at Clemson and need to bounce back this weekend by winning a couple of games to make an impression on the NCAA Baseball Committee for the seeds that come out on Monday.

#6 Virginia Tech

Top Hitter: Steve Domecus (.372 BA, 11 HR, 56 RBI) Top Pitcher: Jesse Hahn (5-4, 3.55 ERA) Outlook: Virginia Tech needs to pick up two wins this weekend so they don’t slid down to a four seed or get put squarely on the bubble for the brackets on Monday.

#7 NC State

Top Hitter: Kyle Wilson (.379 BA, 6 HR, 29 RBI) Top Pitcher: Jake Buchanan (7-4, 3.83 ERA) Outlook: The Wolfpack enter the weekend on the bubble and need to have a good weekend to get a bid in the NCAA Tourney.

#8 Boston College

Top Hitter: Anthony Melchionda (.361 BA, 7 HR, 41 RBI) Top Pitcher: Pat Dean (5-2, 4.71 ERA) Outlook: The Eagles need to win at least two out of three games in Greensboro to get into the discussion for a regional big in 2010.

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